Johan Galtung, PRIO’s founder, is 92 today. We take this opportunity to publish an essay by one of his former students, Simon Schwartzman. In 1963, I met Johan Galtung for the first time. He was to become one of my important mentors. This is the story of how that came to be.
Category: Peace Research
The Peace Researcher Is a Deeply Worried Optimist
Henrik Urdal, Director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), laughs out loud when our journalist points out all the worries that have emerged during their conversation. He does indeed believe that many left-wingers can end up supporting Norwegian EU membership. But he fears continued political polarization in the United States, and is worried that… Read more »
Can Peace be Researched? Revisiting a 55-Year-Old TV Program
I was reminded recently that a 55-year-old TV program about PRIO and peace research is currently available on the website of NRK, Norway’s public radio and TV company. You can access it here. The two-part program was broadcast on 18 and 25 October 1966. NRK does not have any information about when it was shot,… Read more »
What a Year with No Travel Taught Us about the Future of Fieldwork
For many researchers working on projects that spanned international borders, the imposition of travel restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a rapid change in ways of working. Drawing on their own experience and those of colleagues of carrying out fieldwork during the pandemic, Talitha Dubow and Marta Bivand Erdal propose practical recommendations… Read more »
An Australian Viking has laid down his pen
Andrew Mack, known to his friends as Andy, died peacefully in Vancouver on 20 January, just before his 82nd birthday. Andy was best known in recent years for his work as the founder and editor of the Human Security Report, with four editions from 2005 to 2013, as well as several shorter Human Security Briefs…. Read more »
Johan Galtung at 90: His Enduring Legacy to Peace Research in Oslo
The banner on the front page of PRIO’s Annual Reports and other publications proudly reads: Independent • International • Interdisciplinary These three key points for PRIO today, as well as other important features of contemporary peace research in Oslo, can be traced back to PRIO’s founder, Johan Galtung. He turns 90 today.
Collection of PRIO Research on Racism, Inequality and Discrimination
Introduction For over six decades, our mission here at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) has been to produce research for a more peaceful world. We analyze the conditions, causes, and dynamics of the political and social processes that create conflict or peace, and communicate this knowledge to policymakers, stakeholders, and the general public so… Read more »
Toward a Social-Democratic Peace?
The post–World War II period has shown a clear, albeit erratic, decline of organized violence. Violence in this period peaked during the Chinese Civil War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and most recently the Syrian Civil War, but the peaks are declining over time and the long-term trend in absolute numbers is clearly downward…. Read more »
Overcoming Mistrust in Afghanistan’s Peace Process
The hope of pathways to peace in Afghanistan, following the Doha Agreement on 29 February, has been crushed by mutual mistrust. Over a decade of my research on comparative peace process suggests that while all peace processes are fragile in the early phase, successful ones are characterized by political and rebel leaders with a high level of trust… Read more »
Coronavirus and the (Wannabe) Dictators
In December of last year, the Chinese state jailed a physician in the city of Wuhan. His crime? Attempting to warn authorities against the occurrence of a potentially contagious and deadly new virus. The physician, Dr. Li Wenliang, has since died from the same disease whose spread he tried to contain.